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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29472075">Team-building</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aja/pseuds/Aja'>Aja</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Tennis no Oujisama | Prince of Tennis</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Gratuitous Hand-Holding, M/M</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2007-02-24</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2007-02-24</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-15 21:35:57</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,850</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29472075</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aja/pseuds/Aja</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>An excuse for Seigaku to hold hands! (I stumbled across this little ficlet from 2007 randomly just now and thought I'd post it here.)</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Echizen Ryouma/Tezuka Kunimitsu</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>6</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Team-building</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>This is for Sam, again, because she likes this, and she deserves to have things that she likes. ♥</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Ryoma had been coming to tennis practice just a bit later every day for the last couple of weeks. He wasn’t sure when it started happening that way. He knew, though, when he thought about it sometimes, that getting there later meant he didn’t have to spend as long in the changing rooms with Tezuka there. (Which was something he tried never to think about.)</p><p>This particular morning it had just begun to rain when Ryoma arrived, and the entire tennis club was crowded in the locker room. Ryuzaki stood consulting Tezuka just outside the door. Tezuka raised an eyebrow at Ryoma’s late arrival as Ryoma ducked between them, water dripping off his cap. Ryoma grumbled and squeezed onto the end of the bench next to Momo-senpai, who took no notice because he was trying to reach across Eiji-senpai to punch Kaidoh in the face. Behind them Horio was trying to brag about the time he played tennis in the rain just like Fuji-senpai and Echizen, but no one was listening. The collective bad mood hovered over Ryoma, bunching the muscles of his shoulders into a knot of annoyance. Momo poked him and asked him to pick which of them is stronger. “Kaidoh-senpai,” Ryoma said, rolling his eyes, and started wringing the water out of his cap. He stared at the puddle it formed on the floor while Momo shrieked at him and tried not to glance up at Buchou in the doorway. It wasn’t like he didn’t already know what he’d see anyway.</p><p>He’d just lost the battle between his resolve and the urge to see if the rain had pushed Tezuka’s hair out of place when one of the second years snapped at Horio to shut up and shoved him into Kaidoh, who let out a snarl. At that, Oishi leaped up and spread his arms out like a traffic cop.</p><p>“Everyone!” he shouted. “That’s enough!”</p><p>From that point, however, he stood there awkwardly. The tennis club stirred with mutterings and murmurs, and Oishi looked a bit stricken, as if he had grabbed the reins of a horse that threatened to bolt at any time. The mood in the room was tense, and Ryoma was just wishing Buchou would turn around and give them all laps when Eiji jumped up from where he had been separating Momo and Kaidoh, and slung an arm around Oishi’s shoulder.</p><p>“Hoi!” he shouted. Only Eiji-senpai could sound that serious and perky all at once. Ryoma snorted and pulled his cap back onto his head. ”Hoi! Eiji said again, and all talking came to a halt. Oishi stared at Eiji with that look he got whenever he wasn’t sure whether to be mad or impressed. Eiji squeezed his shoulder and grinned at the club. “Listen up!” he said cheerfully. “Everyone take the hand of the person next to you.”</p><p>Oishi’s eyes widened. “Eiji!” But Eiji waggled his finger and took Oishi’s hand, turning the palm upward.</p><p>“No buts!” he said. “Everyone! Join hands right away!”</p><p>“I’m not holding hands with him,” Momo said loudly, crossing his arms.</p><p>Kaidoh hissed. “You’re a moron.”</p><p>“Taka-san,” said Fuji softly at the other end of the bench. “May I?”</p><p>“Fuji-ko,” Taka answered brightly. “My pleasure.” They joined hands. Everyone else grumbled.</p><p>Ryoma rolled his eyes. His senpai were so weird. Eiji clapped his hands. “Everyone, take your partner’s hand. We’re going to read palms!”</p><p>“Ah,” Fuji said, smiling brilliantly. “ I love palm reading. Don’t you, Inui?”</p><p>“Yes, Fuji,” said Inui, pushing up his glasses. “This should result in excellent data.” He turned to his left. “Kaidoh,” he said. “Let me see your palm.”</p><p>Kaidoh blanched and then turned bright pink. “I…” he looked down at his hands, rubbing them on his jersey as if they were suddenly sweaty. Beside him, Momoshiro suddenly made a strangled noise and jerked Kaidoh’s hand into his lap.</p><p>“Fine,” he said, glaring at Eiji-senpai. “There, are you happy?”</p><p>“Nyah,” Eiji responded, beaming at him.</p><p>Kaidoh glared at Momo and started breathing loudly through his nose. But he didn’t take his hand away.</p><p>“Yes,” Inui murmured, opening his notebook. “Very good data so far.”</p><p>“This is stupid,” muttered Arai from behind Ryoma. But he took Kachiro’s hand anyway.</p><p>Kachiro giggled. “That tickles, senpai.”</p><p>“So let it tickle and shut up, already,” said Arai, but he sounded less annoyed.</p><p>“Okay, everyone!” said Eiji. “Look for your partner’s life line! The long dark curved line in the corner.”</p><p>No one seemed to care that Ryoma didn’t have a partner, so he looked at his own palm. His life line was clear and long, a sharp smooth curve from the middle of his palm down to his wrist.</p><p>“If your life line is dark and distinct, this means you have a strong and vigorous life!” said Eiji, examining Oishi’s palm. He squinted. “Oishi, your line is wiggly.” He laughed. “That means you need other people to have a full and happy life.”</p><p>Oishi laughed. “Don’t we all, Eiji?”</p><p>Momo gripped Kaidoh’s hand and tugged it up. “Hey, where are we supposed to look for this thing again?”</p><p>“The corner, you idiot.”</p><p>“Hey, Eiji-senpai,” Momo grinned, waving Kaidoh’s hand in the air. “Kaidoh doesn’t have one.”</p><p>Kaidoh took his upturned palm and smacked Momo in the face.</p><p>“Let’s see yours, then, moron,” he said, and snatched his hand back, along with Momo’s own.</p><p>It turned out that Momo’s life line was even fainter than Kaidoh’s, which lead to more squabbling and bickering until Oishi calmed them down. Tezuka and Ryuzaki-sensai had ended their conversation by this point; Ryuzaki had returned to the school, but Tezuka still stood in the doorway between the tennis club and the rain. He was regarding the proceedings calmly, standing a bit behind Oishi and Kikumaru. Ryoma found himself watching Tezuka’s face. The way he ignored the raindrops spattering occasionally from the roof onto his jacket. Into his hair.</p><p>Tezuka looked at Ryoma all at once and Ryoma looked down, scrutinizing his palm, grateful for the cap covering his face again.</p><p>“Now for their head line,” Eiji was saying. “it’s above the life line and it tells you about their goals and interests. If the line is solid and straight then they’re very focused and singleminded. Hehe – like Tezuka-Buchou’s probably is.” He made a serious face. “Oishi’s is wavy – that means he’s smart but he has a funny side, too!” Oishi reddened. Then he tugged Eiji’s hand towards him.</p><p>“Eiji’s is all wavy,” he said. “No seriousness here.” Eiji’s face crumpled in protest until Oishi laughed; then his grin spread wide across it. Ryoma looked down at his hand. The line they were talking about was mostly solid. He thought it might be criss-crossed a little, but he couldn’t really tell. It went nearly all across his hand though, and he smirked, pleased because it was pretty close to solid and straight.</p><p>Tezuka was looking at him when he looked up. Ryoma started to tug his cap down again. Instead he held up his hand wordlessly. See. Focused and singleminded.</p><p>Then, to Ryoma’s astonishment, Tezuka came and knelt beside him at the end of the crowded bench of regulars. He didn’t seem to mind at all getting his uniform dirtied on the cold tile floor of the locker room. Ryoma could feel how large he was when they were side by side this way - in the thickness of his shoulders, the way the floor couldn’t possibly swallow all his legs up, the way Ryoma’s head still came barely to Tezuka’s chest. He felt weird all at once, like when he accidentally went a day and a half without eating and then tried to play tennis like normal – the same feeling, like if he stood up he’d wobble. Like his stomach was turning in on itself.</p><p>Tezuka reached over and silently took Ryoma’s hand in his, turning it face up. And then it felt like the whole world was turning in on itself.</p><p>Ryoma swallowed and tried to make his hand not shake. Everything about him was so small compared to Buchou – tiny fingers and a tiny palm, tiny calluses on his fingertips. He wondered abruptly if his hand was rough or smooth. Then he smirked because he knew Buchou wouldn’t care which.</p><p>Now for “The last line!” Eiji said. “This is the heart line. The one that tells you how you’ll be in love.” He laughed. “Lucky or unlucky!”</p><p>Tezuka silently took Ryoma’s palm. He didn’t trace the lines or anything, just held it still between his fingers. “Look at the length of the line,” said Eiji. “ The longer it is, the more the person likes to love and be loved.”</p><p>Oishi laughed. “Eiji’s is really long,” he said.</p><p>“Oishi’s is too, Nyah!” Ryoma looked down at his and snorted. His line looked short and stubby.</p><p>“But,” Eiji continued. “Even if their line is short, if the heart line is deep and well-defined, it means that when they do give their heart away, then they love without reserve, without holding anything back. This is the person who’ll be in love forever.”</p><p>Ryoma looked at his line. Then he looked up at Tezuka. Tezuka wasn’t looking at his heart line. He was looking at Ryoma. They looked at each other some more. Ryoma missed whatever happened to the person with a short wavy heart line. He slowly turned his palm over and placed it inside Tezuka’s. Tezuka’s hand was so big it engulfed Ryoma’s. The deep solid line of his heart line was even longer than the width of Ryoma’s palm. Ryoma thought about where their heart lines would meet, and aligned them together.</p><p>Tezuka didn’t look back down at their hands, but the way he was looking at Ryoma, Ryoma thought he knew what Ryoma had done anyway.</p><p>Then Tezuka stood up, crossed his arms, and ordered everyone inside the gym to run 10 laps. Ryoma’s hand felt cold next to how warm it had been a moment before, but he stood up anyway, and grabbed his shoulder bag. Further down the bench Taka and Fuji were still buried over each other’s palms, tracing lines and laughing while Inui tried to peer over Fuji’s shoulder and take notes. Beside him, Momo and Kaidoh were sitting, staring at each other’s palms without saying a word at all. Ryoma decided he didn’t want to know what that was about.</p><p>Instead, he addressed Eiji, careful not to look at Tezuka, “Hey, Kikumaru-senpai.”</p><p>“Hoi, ochibi?”</p><p>“Maybe next time you can teach us some more of this stuff.”</p><p>“Ohhhh,” breathed Eiji, his face lighting up. “We’d love to, wouldn’t we Oishi?!” He grabbed Oishi’s hand, ignoring Oishi’s startled expression. Ryoma felt Tezuka standing beside him, and somehow knew he was repressing a smile.</p><p>“Che,” he said. “Only I was thinking something different.”</p><p>“Oh? What is it, what?”</p><p>Ryoma shouldered his bag and made a point to throw only the faintest of glances back at Buchou.</p><p>“Lip reading,” he said, and headed out the door before Momo could start screeching in horror – and before Tezuka could see Ryoma’s smile.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>
  <a href="http://www.ofesite.com/spirit/palm/readself_start.htm">palm-reading and lines reference.</a>
</p></blockquote></div></div>
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